Typewriter

ABSTRACT

A typewriter of the type in which keys on a keyboard are divided into at least a first and second key groups, wherein a torque bar is provided which is actuated in response to the depression of a key belonging to for example the first key group so that a type or character selecting mechanism is lifted in order to bring the desired character on a typing member to the typing position.

United States Patent 1191 Matsuhisa Sept. 3, 1974 [54] TYPEWRITER2,870,897 1/1959 Hubl 197/18 3,404,765 10/1968 G ss'no t 1. 197/55Inventor: Matsuhmsa Nmomlyamach" 3,592,313 7/1971 c3562 t 197/16 xKanagawwken, Japan 3,666,070 5/1972 8611616161 197/18 3,696,906 10/1972Salto et a1... 197/18 [73] Asslgnee Rlcoh Tokyo Japan 3,738,471 6/1973Werff et a1 197 16 x [22] Filed: Nov. 13, 1972 [21] Appl. No.: 305,874Primary ExaminerRobert E. Pulfrey Assistant ExaminerR. T. Rader IAttorney, Agent, or Firm-Cooper, Dunham, Clark, [30] Foreign ApplicationPriority Data G iffi & Moran Nov. 13, 1971 Japan 46-90707 Nov. 17, 1971Japan 1. 46-92215 57 ABSTRACT Nov. 17, 1971 Japan 46-92216 A typewriterof the type 1n which keys on a keyboard [52] us. 01 197/18 197/55 178/34are divided into at least a first and Second key groups 51 int. (:1 B4lj 23/04 wherein a torque bar is P which is actuated in 58 Field 61Search 197/16 18 55 52 98- JeSPOhSh the depression of a belOhgihg 2example the first key group so that a type or character selectingmechanism is lifted in order to bring the de- [56] References Citedsired character on a typing member to the typing posi- UNITED STATESPATENTS 2,865,486 12/1958 Capellaro 197/55 x 6 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures[111M561 [11111111311111] 33 EEDU1UIUIEI[UID] [F llljlEllUlDlEllEb] 1 rVIZ. g r t 5. I 2 III II 1' -1 w I I I PATENTED 74 SHEU 1 0F 4 PATENTED$5? 31974 SNEH3UF4 PATENTED SEP 3 74 3.833.107 .WUQUF 4 i TYPEWRITERBACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates generally to atypewriter which is used as an input-output device for a data processingmachine or electronic computer.

Generally, in typewriters, one of the characters arrayed in rows andcolumns on a typing cylinder is selected and brought to the printingposition by a lever or gear addition system, but various characterselection mechanisms other than the above lever or gear addition systemhave been recently devised and demonstrated. One example is a music boxtype typewriter in which a timing cylinder having a plurality of teethor projections arrayed in the spiral form upon the cylindrical surfaceis continuously rotated in synchronism with a typing cylinder. There isa one-to-one correspondence between each of the plurality of teeth onthe timing cylinder and each of the characters arrayed on the typingcylinder so that when one of the teeth passes through a predeterminedposition its corresponding character on the typing cylinder is broughtto a printing position in opposed relation with a platen. When one ofthe keys on the keyboard is depressed and when its corresponding toothpasses through a predetermined position, a printing clutch is engaged sothat the corresponding character on the typing cylinder is selected andbrought to the printing position. In the typwriters such as a music boxtype typewriter of the type not using the lever or gear addition systemthe character selection mechanisms are made very simple in construction.

The characters each corresponding to each key on the keyboard aregenerally arrayed in the upper and lower rows on the typing cylinder sothat in addition to a mechanism for bringing one of the charactercolumns including a desired character into the printing position, theremust be provided a mechanism for bringing the desired character in theupper or lower row of said one column into the final printing position.Generally the conventional mechanism for selecting the upper or lowerrow of the typing cylinder is based upon the lever or gear additionsystem, but when the lever or gear addition system is employed in amusic box type typewriter of the type described, its advantages arealmost lost.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION One of the objects of the present invention istherefore to provide a typewriter incorporating a row selectionmechanism not based upon the lever or gear addition system.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a typewriter inwhich the selection of the upper or lower row of the typing cylinder maybe made by a simple mechanism not based upon the lever addition systern.

Briefly stated according to the embodiment of the present invention anumber of keys arrayed on the keyboard are divided into a first keygroup and a second key group. The keys in the first key group correspondto the characters in the lower row on the typing cylinder whereas thekeys of the second key group, to the characters in the upper row. Atorque lever is provided which is adapted to be actuated when one of thekeys of the first key group is depressed. The torque bar is operativelycoupled through a linkage to a row selecting mechanism forselecting andbringing the upper or lower row into the printing position. When the rowselecting mechanism is not actuated, the upper row is normally selected.Therefore when one of the keys of the first key group is depressed, thetorque bar is actuated so that the row selecting mechanism is actuatedto cause the typing cylinder to lift from its normal position. As aresult the lower row on the typing cylinder is brought to the typingposition. On the other hand the second key group is not provided with atorque bar so that even when one of the keys of the second key group isdepressed, the row selecting mechanism is not actuated so that the upperrow on the typing cylinder is in the printing position. In addition tothe row selecting mechanism of the type described, a swivelling orcolumn selecting mechanism is of course provided which is adapted tobring one of the character columns including a desired type or characteron the typing cylinder to the striking position. When the row selectingmechanism in accordance with the present invention is combined with thecolumn selecting mechanism which is used in the music box typetypewriter, further advantages may be attained. When a desired type orcharacter is brought to the printing or striking position by the row andcolumn selecting mechanisms, a hammering mechanism is actuated to strikethe selected type or character against a paper held by a platen.Thereafter the typing cylinder is returned to its initial position, thatis the position in which a character in the upper row may be selectedand brought to the typing position.

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the presentinvention will become more apparent from the following description ofone preferred embodiment thereof taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view ofa music box type typewriter;

FIG. 2 is a view illustrating a mechanism thereof for swivelling atyping head in order to bring a selected type or character into theprinting position; FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of a rowselecting mechanism in accordance with the present invention forselecting a desired row of characters or types on the typing cylinder;and

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view illustrating in detail ahammering mechanism thereof.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2illustrating a music box type typewriter, only one key 2 is shown eventhough a keyboard 1 has a number of alphanumeric and function keys. Thekey 2 is coupled to a key lever 3 whose one end is pivoted to a shaft 4and whose the other end is supported by a member 6 through a spring 5loaded therebetween. A key lever leg 8 is pivoted with a pivot pin 7 tothe midpoint of the upper arm of the key lever 3. A spring 9 is loadedbetween the leg 8 and the key lever 3. An interposer 10 has a projection10a which engages with the leg 8 and a bifurcated right end having anupper leg 10b and a lower leg 10c. The upper legnfpb has two steppedportions-10'b, and the lower step fg ed portion is normally inengagement with a guide cofiib 11 which in turn is fixed to a stationarymember. A tongue 13 which isv pivoted with a pivot pin 12 to the lowerleg c of the interpose 10 is normally biased upwardly under the force ofa spring 14 while the interposer 10 itself is normally biased to move tothe right under the force of a spring 15. The left end of the interposer10 is pivoted to a supporting member 16 which in turn is securely fixedto a stationary member. The tongue 13 pivoted to the lower leg 10c ofthe interposer 10 is in opposed relation with a set lever 17, and theleading end of the upper leg 10b is in opposed relation with a resetlever 18. All of the keys on the keyboard 1 are arranged in a mannersimilar to that described above with the particular reference to the key2. A timing cylinder 19 having a number of teeth disposed on the sidesurface thereof, a carrier 30 and a typing cylinder 33 are illustratedin detail in FIG. 2.

Referring particularly to FIG. 2, the number of teeth 20 are arrayed inthe form of a spiral upon the cylindrical surface of the timing cylinder19, and each tooth 20 has a one-to-one correspondence with each tooth onthe typing cylinder 33. The set bar 17 which is disposed adjacent to thetiming cylinder 19 has a rectangular shape and a'length equal to that ofthe timing cylinder 19. Both ends of the set bar 17 are pivoted to apair of supporting members 17 for rotation about the axis 17". Thetongues each corresponding to each key on the keyboard 1 are disposed inside-by-side relation upwardly of the set bar 17 and in opposed relationwith the teeth on the cylinder 19. Thus it is seen that there is anone-to-one correspondence between the keys on the keyboard 1 and theteeth 20 on the timing cylinder 19 and the types on the typing cylinder33.

A gear 21 carried by a rotary shaft 19' of the timing cylinder 19 is inmesh with a driving gear 22 which in turn is drivingly coupled to amotor (not shown) and is also in mesh with a driven gear 23 carried by afirst keyway shaft 28. A clutch 24 which is carried by the rotary shaft19' of the timing cylinder 19 and has a cam 25 and a gear 26 is normallyin engagement with an arm 17' fixed to the left end of the set lever 17so that both the cam 25 and the gear 26 are prevented from rotating. Thecam 25 engages with an arm 18' fixed to the reset lever 18, and the gear26 is in mesh with a gear 27 carried by a second keyway shaft 29. Thecarrier is fitted over the first and second keyway shafts 28 and 29 forslidable movement, and has a vertical shaft 32 which carries a bevelgear 31 in mesh with a bevel gear carried by the first keyway shaft 28.Within the carrier 30 is located a cam 34 carried by the second keywayshaft 29. The typing cylinder 33 is carried by the vertical shaft 32,and a hammering block which is pivoted to the first keyway shaft 28 hasa projection 35 which is extended from one end thereof for engagementwith the cam 34. A platen 36 is disposed in opposed relation with thetyping cylinder 33.

The rotation of the driving gear 22 which is drivingly coupled to themotor (not shown) is transmitted to the timing cylinder 19 through thedriven gear 21 and to the typing cylinder 33 through the gear 23, thefirst keyway shaft 28 and the pair of bevel gears 31 so that the timingcylinder 19 and the typing cylinder 33 continuously rotate insynchronism with each other with the one-to-one correspondence betweenthe teeth upon the timing cylinder 19 and the types upon the typingcylinder 33.

Referring back to F IG, ,1, upon depression of the key 2 on the keyboard1, the key lever 3 rotates in the counter-clockwise direction about theshaft 4 so that the leg 8 fixed to the key lever 3 causes the interposer10 to move downwardly. As a result the upper stepped portion 10"b of theupper leg 10b of the interposer 10 engages with the guide comb 11. Moreparticularly the interposer 10 is shifted over a distance a to the rightunder the force of the spring 15 so that the tongue 13 fixed to thelower leg 100 is projected to engage with the corresponding tooth 20 onthe timing cylinder 19 which rotates in the direction indicated by thearrow. When the tongue 13 engages with the corresponding tooth 20 on thetiming cylinder 19, it is caused to move downwardly by the tooth 20 toengage with the set lever 17, thereby causing the latter to rotate aboutits axis 17''.

Next referring to FIG. 2, upon rotation of the set lever 17 about itsaxis 17", the arm 17 of the set lever 17 is released from the clutch 24so that the latter may rotate in unison with the timing cylinder 19.Therefore both the cam 25 and the gear 26 carried by the clutch 24 arealso rotated, and the rotation of the cam 25 causes the reset lever 18to swing about the axis 18" to the left in FIG. 1, thereby pushing theupper leg 10b of the interposer 10 to the left. Therefore even when thekey 2 is kept depressed, the projection 10a of the interposer 10 isreturned beyond the leg 8 to the left side thereof and the interposer 10itself is returned to its initial position in which the lower steppedportion of the upper leg 10b engages with the guide comb 11 and thespring 9 is compressed. As a consequence the tongue 13 is also returnedto its initial position and is prevented from engaging with thecorresponding tooth on the timing cylinder 19 when the latter rotates.

Upon rotation of the gear 26 in unison with the clutch 24, the cam 34 isrotated through the gear 27 and the second keyway shaft 29, and theprojection 35' in engagement with the cam 34 is moved upwardly so thatthe hammering block 35 rotates about the first keyway shaft 28 therebycausing the type cylinder 33 to strike against the platen 36. Thus theprinting is accomplished. As described above, there is the one-toonecorrespondence between the keys on the keyboard 1 and the teeth on thetiming cylinder 19 and the type cylinder 33 rotates in synchronism withthe timing cylinder at a rotational speed multiple or submultiple ofthat of the timing cylinder so that the printing timing of one key isdependent upon the position of the corresponding tooth on the timingcylinder 19 and the corresponding type on the type cylinder 33 isselected. The swinging time of the arm 17 is very short and is movedaway from the clutch 24 under the force of a spring (not shown) when theclutch 24 rotates and moved toward the clutch 24 for engagementtherewith after the clutch 24 makes one rotation. The operationsdescribed above are cycled whenever any key on the keyboard 1 isdepressed.

Upon the cylindrical surface of the typing cylinder 33 are arrayed inrows and columns a number of characters, and in order to select adesired character and bring it to the typing position a swivelling orcolumn selecting mechanism for rotating the typing cylinder 33 to anumber of positions and a lifting or row selection mechanism for liftingthe typing cylinder 33 to a plurality of positions are provided. Atyping cylinder lifting mechanism in accordance with the presentinvention is illustrated in detail in FIG. 3.

On the keyboard 1 are disposed a first group of keys 2' operativelycoupled to the types in the lower row of the typing cylinder 33, asecond group 2" of keys operatively coupled to the types in the upperrow of the typing cylinder 33 and a shift key 2". A first and secondtorque lever 37 and 51 are disposed in engagement with the key levers 3'of the first key group 2 and with the key lever 3" of the shift key 2",but the second key group 2 is not provided with the torque lever. Thetorque lever 37 which is also shown in FIG. 1 at the bottom left, iscoupled to one end of a clutch 39 through a linkage 38 consisting of arocker and a connecting link. A driving shaft 42, which is normallyrotating, carries a clutch 40 whose shaft 40' in turn carries a cam 43.A projection 39' extending from the other end of the clutch 39 isnormally in engagement with the clutch 40 so that the rotation of thedriving shaft 42 is normally not transmitted to the cam 43. A rocker 41serves to hold the clutch 40 in its original position when the clutch 39is engaged. The cam 43 carried by the shaft 40' of the clutch 40 islocated in an aperture 44' formed in a sector segment 44 which isadapted to rotate about the axis 66 in unison with a segment gear 45.The position of a cam 65 fitted into an aperture 45 of the segment gear45 determines the position of the segment member 44 with respect to thesegment gear 45 as will be described in more detail hereinafter. Thesegment gear 45 is in mesh with a pinion 46 carried at one end of akeyway shaft 47. A pinion 48 which is slidably fitted over the keywayshaft 47 is in mesh with a rack 49 whose upper end is securely fixed tothe bottom or undersurface of a plate 50 fitted over the boss of thetyping cylinder 33. The carrier and the hammering block which have beendescribed in detail with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 are schematicallyillustrated in FIG. 3.

One end of the torque bar 51 for the shift key 2" is coupled to a plate52 through a linkage, and a roll 53 fitted over a stud 54 extending froman arm 54 is fitted into a cam slot 57 which is formed in the plate 52and has a projection 57 formed at the center of the cam slot 57. An arm55 is normally pressed against the projection of the arm 54 under theforce of a spring, and one end of the arm 55 engages with the steppedportion of a clutch 56 carried by a driving shaft 59 so that the clutch54 is normally prevented from rotating. A cam 60 carried by the shaft ofthe clutch 56 is fitted into an aperture 61 of an arm 61 whose one endis coupled to the cam shaft 65 through links 62 and 63. One end of thecam shaft 65 is fixed to the link 63 with a pin 64.

released from the clutch 40, and the clutch is engaged with the normallyrotating driving shaft 42 so that the cam 43 fixed to the clutch 40starts to rotate. Upon rotation of the cam 43, the segment member 44 iscaused to rotate about the axis 66 which in turn causes the segment gear45 to rotate thereby rotating the pinion 56. The rotation of the pinion46 is transmitted through the keyway shaft 47 to the pinion 48 so thatthe rack 49 in mesh with the pinion 48 is lifted. As a result the typingcylinder 33 is also lifted so that the lower row of types is selected.In practice the typing cylinder 33 is swivelled to a desired positionsimultaneously when it is lifted in the manner described above so that adesired type is brought to a typing position. Thereafter the hammeringblock 35 is actuated. After typing, the clutch 42 further rotates toengage with the projection 39' of the clutch 39 and stops. The lever 41serves to securely hold the clutch 40 in its initial position when thelatter reengages with the clutch 39. The cam 43 causes the segmentmember 44 to rotate in the opposite direction so that the typingcylinder 33 is lowered to its initial position.

When a key in the second key group 2" is depressed the typing cylinderlifting mechanism does not function so that the position of the typingcylinder 33 is selected only by the mechanism described with referenceto FIGS. 1 and 2. That is, a type in the upper row on the typingcylinder 33 is selected.

The print shift is made by the depression of the shift key 2". In thiscase, the segment member 44 is displaced from the segment gear 45 sothat upon actuation of the lifting or row selection mechanism describedabove one of the shift types which are arrayed on the typing cylinder 33and displaced from the other types by one-half pitch may be selected.

Upon depression of the shift key 2", its key lever 3" engages with thetorque bar 51 to rotate it about the axis 51'. The motion of the torquebar 51 is transmitted through the linkage to the plate 52 to cause it torotate about the axis 58. When the plate 52 is rotated and the roll 53which is fitted over the stud 54' of the arm 54 passes beyond theprojection 57 of the grooved cam 58, the arm 54 and hence the arm 55 areinstantaneously rotated and then returned to their original positions.In response to the movement of the arm 55, the end thereof which is inengagement with the clutch 56 is released therefrom, and the clutch 56engages with the driving shaft 59 to rotate in unison with the shaft 59.In this case the arm 55 rests upon the periphery of the clutch whileextending a spring 67, and engages with the other stepped portion of theclutch 56 when the latter makes a half rotation. Therefore the clutch 56is stopped. In response to the rotation of the clutch 56 the cam 60 isrotated through 180 so that the arm 61 is rotated about the axis 61".The movement of the arm 61 is transmitted through the links 62 and 63 tothe cam shaft 65 so that the latter is rotated to cause the segment gear45 to angularly displace with respect to the segment member 44. Underthis condition the lifting mechanism is actuated so that the shift typeon the typing cylinder 33 may be selected. A spring 68 fixed to the stud54' of the arm 54 serves to impart the snap action to the plate 52 whenit is rotated. When the shift key 2" is released and returned to itsinitial position, the plate is returned to its initial position so thatthe stud 54' and hence the ring 53 passes again the projection 57' ofthe grooved cam 57 while the clutch 56rotates through so that the camshaft 65 is returned also to its initial position. As a consequence thesegment gear 45 is returned to its initial position so that the relativedisplacement between the segment member and gears 44 and 45 disappears.

When the hammering block 35 causes the typing cylinder 33 to strikeagainst the platen 36 while the typing cylinder 33 is continuouslyrotating, the shearing in typing and the misalignment between theprinted characters occur. To overcome this problem the present inventionprovides an arrangement shown in FIG. 4. The

typing cylinder 33 is continuously rotated by the motor (not shown)through the keyway shaft 28, the bevel gears 31 and the vertical shaft32, and is selectively lifted in response to the rotation of the keywayshaft 47 through the pinion 48 and the rack 49. A hollow shaft 69 whichis slidably fitted over and keyed to the vertical shaft 32 is rotated inunison with the vertical shaft 32 and has a hub 70 fixed to the upperend and provided with a notch 70'. The typing cylinder 33 has aplurality of internally threaded teeth 71 each of which corresponds toeach of the columns of types on the typing cylinder 33. The extension ofthe hollow shaft 69 is fitted into a center aperture 33' of the typingcylinder 33 and is securely held in position with a stop ring 72. Twostuds 73 and 74 are extended downwardly from the hub 70 and the typingcylinder 33 respectively, and the stud 74 is located in the notch 70 ofthe hub 70. A coiled spring 75 which has its ends fixed to the studs 74and 75 and is fitted over the hollow shaft 69 serves to cause the typingcylinder 33 to normally follow the vertical shaft 32. The lower end ofthe hollow shaft 69 is fitted into a center aperture of the plate 50 andis securely fixed thereto with a stop ring 76. A detent 77 which issecurely fixed to the carrier 30 is adapted to engage with theinternally threaded teeth 71 of the typing cylinder 33 when thehammering block 35 and hence the typing cylinder 33 are caused to movetoward the platen 36.

As described above the keyway shaft 28 is continuously rotated, and itsrotation is transmitted to the typing cylinder 33 through the bevelgears 31, the vertical shaft 32, the hollow shaft 69 and the stud 74 sothat the typing cylinder 33 is normally rotated at a high speed.

When one of the keys on the keyboard 1 (See FIG. 1) is depressed, aselected type is brought to a printing position and simultaneously theprojection 35' of the hammering block 35 is lifted in the directionindicated by the arrow. The hammering block 35 rotates about the keywayshaft 28 in the clockwise direction thereby causing the typing cylinder33 to strike against the platen 36 to impress the selected character ona paper held on the platen 36. In this case, the detent 77 engages withthe teeth 71 of the typing cylinder 33 so that the latter is forced tostop while the selected character is impressed. Therefore the shearingin typing and the misalignment between the typed characters may becompletely prevented. Even when the typing cylinder 33 is forced to stopits rotation, the rotational force is continuously applied throughvertical shaft 32 from the keyway shaft 28 so that the stud 74 extendingfrom the typing cylinder 33 is moved away from one end a of the notch 70of the hub 70 whereas the stud 73 which to tates in unison with thevertical shaft 32 passes beyond the stud 74 while compressing the spring75. When the hammering block 35 returns to its initial position afterthe printing operation has been completed so that the detent 77 isreleased from the internal teeth 71 of the typing cylinder 33, therotation of the typing cylinder 33 is accelerated under the force of thecompressed spring 75 to return to its initial position in which the stud74 engages with the end a of the notch 70 of the hub 70. Thereafter thetyping cylinder 33 follows the rotation of the hub 70 and hence thevertical shaft 32, and the next printing operation may be started.

So far the present invention has been described as being applied to amusic box type typewriter, but it will be understood that the presentinvention may be also applied to other various typewriters, for examplea type-bar type typewriter.

What is claimed is: l. A typewriter comprising a. a keyboard having anumber of keys arrayed into I at least a first key group and a secondkey group,

b. a typing cylinder having a cylindrical side surface bearing a numberof characters respectively corresponding to said keys on said keyboard,said number of characters being arrayed at least in an upper row and alower row transverse to the axis of said surface, and in a number ofcolumns parallel to said axis, said cylinder being rotatable about saidaxis and movable along said axis,

c. first character selecting means for angularly positioning saidcylinder about said axis to select and bring one of said number ofcolumns of characters to a printing position in response to thedepression of the corresponding key in. any of said first and second keygroups on said keyboard,

d. a torque bar which is adapted to be actuated in response to thedepression of any key in only said first key group on said keyboard,

e. second character selecting means which is actuated in response tosaid actuation of said torque bar for moving said typing cylinder alongsaid axis to lift said typing cylinder, thereby bringing a characumninto the typing position, and

f. hammering means for causing said typing cylinder to strike against aplaten when said selected character is brought to said typing positionby said first and second character selecting means.

2. A typewriter as defined in claim 1 which further comprises drivingmeans for continuously rotating said typing cylinder, and wherein saidfirst selecting means comprises i. a timing cylinder having a pluralityof projections arrayed in the form of a spiral upon the cylindricalsurface thereof, said plurality of projections corresponding to saidnumber of keys in the first and second key groups on said keyboard, saidtiming cylinder continuously rotating in synchronism with said typingcylinder,

- ii. a group of tongue members arrayed in a line in the axial directionof said timing cylinder in opposed relation with said plurality ofprojections on said timing cylinder, andiii. means for causing one ofsaid tongue members to engage with the corresponding projection on saidtiming cylinder upon depression of one of the keys on said keyboardwhich is operatively coupled to said one tongue member, and wherein saidhammering means comprises means for causing said typing cylinder tostrike against said platen when said tongue engages with thecorresponding projection on said timing cylinder upon depression of saidcorresponding key on said keyboard.

3. A typewriter as defined in claim 2 further comprising means forforcing said typing cylinder to stop its rotaition only when theselected character is typed and for 65 aticelerating the rotation ofsaid typing cylinder so as to rotate at a normal rotational speed afterthe selected cliaracter has been typed.

t. A typewriter including ter in the upper or lower row of said selectedcola. a typing element having a surface curved about an axis and bearinga plurality of type characters for printing, said characters beingarranged in columns aligned with said axis and in at least two rowstransverse thereto;

b. means mounting said element for rotation about said axis and formovement along said axis;

c. a plurality of keys respectively corresponding to said characters;and

d. first character-selecting means responsive to depression of said keysfor imparting to said element an angular orientation about said axissuch that a column containing a character to which a depressed keycorresponds is angularly positioned for printing;

wherein the improvement comprises:

e. a torque bar, positioned to be depressed only by keys correspondingto characters in one of said two rows, and rotatable by depression ofany of the lastmentioned keys; and

f. second character-selecting means, connected to and operated byrotation of said torque bar, for moving said element along said axisbetween a first position at which characters in said one row aredisposed for printing and a second position at which characters in theother of said two rows are disposed for printing.

5. A typewriter as defined in claim 4, wherein said secondcharacter-selecting means comprises i. a clutch;

ii. a continuously rotating driving shaft;

iii. a rotatable cam mechanism coupled through said clutch to saidshaft;

iv. at least one sector segment member which undergoes angulardisplacement through a predetermined angle in response to rotation ofthe cam mechanism;

v. means connected to said one sector segment member for moving saidelement along said axis between said first and second positions inresponse to angular displacement of said one sector segment member; and

vi. means for causing said clutch to engage or disengage in response torotation of said torque bar.

6. A typewriter as defined in claim 5, further includ- UNITED STATESPATENT OFFICE? "0 CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. q 8qq 1 7 DatedHQ/7 1' Inventor(s) Koh Matsuhisa It is certified that error appears inthe above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are herebycorrected as shown below:

Cover sheet: The Inventor's name should be corrected to read:

Koh Matsuhisa Signed and sealed this 5th day of NovembeT 1974.

(SEAL) Attest:

MCCOY M. GIBSON JR. Attesting Officer Commissioner Of Patents I F ORMPO-IOSO (0-69) I USCOMM-DC 60376-5 69 r us, covnuuliu'r rlmmuc OFFICE:I! twan

1. A typewriter comprising a. a keyboard having a number of keys arrayedinto at least a first key group and a second key group, b. a typingcylinder having a cylindrical side surface bearing a number ofcharacters respectively corresponding to said keys on said keyboard,said number of characters being arrayed at least in an upper row and alower row transverse to the axis of said surface, and in a number ofcolumns parallel to said axis, said cylinder being rotatable about saidaxis and movable along said axis, c. first character selecting means forangularly positioning said cylinder about said axis to select and bringone of said number of columns of characters to a printing position inresponse to the depression of the corresponding key in any of said firstand second key groups on said keyboard, d. a torque bar which is adaptedto be actuated in response to the depression of any key in only saidfirst key group on said keyboard, e. second character selecting meanswhich is actuated in response to said actuation of said torque bar formoving said typing cylinder along said axis to lift said typingcylinder, thereby bringing a character in the upper or lower row of saidselected column into the typing position, and f. hammering means forcausing said typing cylinder to strike against a platen when saidselected character is brought to said typing position by said first andsecond character selecting means.
 2. A typewriter as defined in claim 1which further comprises driving means for continuously rotating saidtyping cylinder, and wherein said first selecting means comprises i. atiming cylinder having a plurality of projections arrayed in the form ofa spiral upon the cylindrical surface thereof, said plurality ofprojections corresponding to said number of keys in the first and secondkey groups on said keyboard, said timing cylinder continuously rotatingin synchronism with said typing cylinder, ii. a group of tongue membersarrayed in a line iN the axial direction of said timing cylinder inopposed relation with said plurality of projections on said timingcylinder, and iii. means for causing one of said tongue members toengage with the corresponding projection on said timing cylinder upondepression of one of the keys on said keyboard which is operativelycoupled to said one tongue member, and wherein said hammering meanscomprises means for causing said typing cylinder to strike against saidplaten when said tongue engages with the corresponding projection onsaid timing cylinder upon depression of said corresponding key on saidkeyboard.
 3. A typewriter as defined in claim 2 further comprising meansfor forcing said typing cylinder to stop its rotation only when theselected character is typed and for accelerating the rotation of saidtyping cylinder so as to rotate at a normal rotational speed after theselected character has been typed.
 4. A typewriter including a. a typingelement having a surface curved about an axis and bearing a plurality oftype characters for printing, said characters being arranged in columnsaligned with said axis and in at least two rows transverse thereto; b.means mounting said element for rotation about said axis and formovement along said axis; c. a plurality of keys respectivelycorresponding to said characters; and d. first character-selecting meansresponsive to depression of said keys for imparting to said element anangular orientation about said axis such that a column containing acharacter to which a depressed key corresponds is angularly positionedfor printing; wherein the improvement comprises: e. a torque bar,positioned to be depressed only by keys corresponding to characters inone of said two rows, and rotatable by depression of any of thelast-mentioned keys; and f. second character-selecting means, connectedto and operated by rotation of said torque bar, for moving said elementalong said axis between a first position at which characters in said onerow are disposed for printing and a second position at which charactersin the other of said two rows are disposed for printing.
 5. A typewriteras defined in claim 4, wherein said second character-selecting meanscomprises i. a clutch; ii. a continuously rotating driving shaft; iii. arotatable cam mechanism coupled through said clutch to said shaft; iv.at least one sector segment member which undergoes angular displacementthrough a predetermined angle in response to rotation of the cammechanism; v. means connected to said one sector segment member formoving said element along said axis between said first and secondpositions in response to angular displacement of said one sector segmentmember; and vi. means for causing said clutch to engage or disengage inresponse to rotation of said torque bar.
 6. A typewriter as defined inclaim 5, further including a. a shift key; b. means including a secondsector segment member for angularly displacing said one sector segmentmember in response to rotation of the cam mechanism; c. a movable memberoperatively coupled to said shift key; and d. means for rotating saidone sector segment member through a predetermined angle with respect tosaid second sector segment member in response to movement of saidmovable member coupled to said shift key.